MFA – Kidlithttps://kidlit.com
How to Write and Publish Children's BooksFri, 09 Mar 2018 15:04:11 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.5https://kidlit.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KIDLIT-favicon.pngMFA – Kidlithttps://kidlit.com
32327181881Next Steps and Considerationshttps://kidlit.com/2012/12/10/next-steps-and-considerations/
https://kidlit.com/2012/12/10/next-steps-and-considerations/#commentsMon, 10 Dec 2012 12:30:19 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=3167Katie Van Amburg, a recent college graduate, wrote in a few weeks ago and wanted to know what she should be doing next to further herself as a writer. Should she get an MFA? Should she work at a publishing house? These are some of the “next step” questions that a lot of writers have …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2012/12/10/next-steps-and-considerations/feed/73167Writing on a Themehttps://kidlit.com/2011/11/07/writing-on-a-theme/
https://kidlit.com/2011/11/07/writing-on-a-theme/#commentsMon, 07 Nov 2011 12:30:16 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=2718This heady MFA question comes from Valeria: Some writers say they work around one certain theme, others just find the theme later. But what are your thoughts on it? Theme is actually something I’ve been thinking a lot about as I move forward (luck you!). We all hear the stories of the writers who finished …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2011/11/07/writing-on-a-theme/feed/122718Showing Up For the Workhttps://kidlit.com/2011/07/19/showing-up-for-the-work/
https://kidlit.com/2011/07/19/showing-up-for-the-work/#commentsTue, 19 Jul 2011 12:30:19 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=2551I just spent a lovely weekend in Montpelier, VT for the VCFA Children’s Writing MFA mini-residency. Did I mention it was beautiful? No? Here’s a shot of their cute little capital building (“cute” and “little” are perfect adjectives for Montpelier, the smallest state capital and the only one without a McDonald’s, as six different residents, …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2011/07/19/showing-up-for-the-work/feed/82551Should I Get a Creative Writing MFA?https://kidlit.com/2010/10/27/should-you-get-an-mfa/
https://kidlit.com/2010/10/27/should-you-get-an-mfa/#commentsWed, 27 Oct 2010 13:00:45 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=1990“Should I get a creative writing MFA?” The age-old question! I have been meaning to tackle MFA programs for longer than I’ve had the blog. Tons of writers have asked me: is it worth it to get an MFA? Does that catch your eye in a query? Is the actual curriculum going to take my …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2010/10/27/should-you-get-an-mfa/feed/541990How to Write a Novel Plot in Four Stepshttps://kidlit.com/2009/12/09/writing-a-hot-plot/
https://kidlit.com/2009/12/09/writing-a-hot-plot/#commentsWed, 09 Dec 2009 16:25:39 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=977Many writers get stuck on how to write a novel plot. How do I know? I’ve seen thousands of plots, and very few that worked well enough to sell. Plot is one of the most important elements of any story, from picture book to chapter book to middle grade to young adult. Novels are quite the …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2009/12/09/writing-a-hot-plot/feed/29977How to Write a Query Letterhttps://kidlit.com/2009/08/05/writing-a-simple-compelling-query/
https://kidlit.com/2009/08/05/writing-a-simple-compelling-query/#commentsWed, 05 Aug 2009 21:32:58 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=554There are a lot of “how to write a query letter” articles out there about what not to do. A lot. And I’m going to write some here in short order. But this is a different article. An article on how to do a query right, just so you can see my philosophy on queries. …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2009/08/05/writing-a-simple-compelling-query/feed/23554Am I Wrong to Pursue A Writing Career?https://kidlit.com/2009/06/04/am-i-wrong-to-pursue-a-writing-career/
https://kidlit.com/2009/06/04/am-i-wrong-to-pursue-a-writing-career/#commentsThu, 04 Jun 2009 19:59:45 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=462For today, I’ve got a question from a reader! Take a look at what L.S. wanted to know: I’ve been writing for a few years (I’m 17) and I know I want to be an author. It’s all I want to do but I know my writing needs work – a lot of work. I’ve …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2009/06/04/am-i-wrong-to-pursue-a-writing-career/feed/17462Does A Character Have to Change From Beginning to End?https://kidlit.com/2009/04/15/does-a-character-have-to-change-from-beginning-to-end/
https://kidlit.com/2009/04/15/does-a-character-have-to-change-from-beginning-to-end/#commentsWed, 15 Apr 2009 16:17:29 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=146I just read a MS where the author’s answer seemed to be an emphatic: NO! My answer? An emphatic: YES! This question is much bigger than I have time for right now. I’ll do a longer post later. In short, though, I’ll leave you with a quote. My MFA professor, Lewis Buzbee, is probably not …

]]>https://kidlit.com/2009/04/15/does-a-character-have-to-change-from-beginning-to-end/feed/10146Reductive Revisionhttps://kidlit.com/2009/04/10/reductive-revision/
https://kidlit.com/2009/04/10/reductive-revision/#commentsFri, 10 Apr 2009 18:51:42 +0000http://kidlit.com/?p=111There’s almost nothing harder than “killing your babies” and axing chunks of your writing. Everybody loves their writing. It’s always hard to lose a word here, a line there, sometimes an entire paragraph. But cutting makes for a leaner, meaner, more amazing manuscript. I’ll be posting some craft articles on revision in the next few …